Way too long!

How else could I title this post?! It has been way too long since we have updated this post. Since our last update, the weather has turned much warmer, the trees and flowers are in bloom, the Bolick's have taken two trips out of state, we have all been sick and gotten better at least once, and Max has had his first real boo-boo! Let's start with our first trip out of town, where we met Lizzie, Ben, Betsy, Mary Milam, Campbell, and Gabriel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Here is a shot of us all (Max wasn't too happy about saying "cheese").

In Eureka Springs, we all hung around the Green Tree Lodge (thanks Cindy!), shopped a little, climbed a couple 100' observation towers, and visited a big cat refuge, and saw the biggest Jesus ever. All in all, it was an awesome time. Here is a picture of Max that Lizzie shot, that we all loved!

Here is a shot of Jo Marie with Betsy and Max in front of one of the tigers. You just can't grasp how HUGE these animals are until you are right there in front of them!

Here is Max hanging out with Jesus.

Just two weeks later, Jo Marie, Max, and I headed out to North Carolina for a visit with the Bolick family. Max was wonderful on both flights, and we had an awesome time hanging out with Muncle Josh and Aimee, Pop & GB, Todd, Carren, Travis, and Nana and Papa. We didn't get to see as many people as we had hoped to see while we were in town, but we had a good time nonetheless. Here, Max and Mommy are having a good time hanging out on Papa's boat!

We were so fortunate to have everyone in town, so we had a dear friend (Chris Hicks, you rock) come out and capture a few family shots. Here is one of my favorites!

After our visit in Reidsville, we shot down to Charlotte to hang out with Grandpa Frank and Grandma Kathy. We went to IKEA and then walked around Concord Mills, before heading to the airport to come back home. Here is a shot of our little laid back Max driving around in the car at Concord Mills. And here we are, trying to take up time at the airport before our flight. Can you say, mischievous?!

We have been back in town now for a month or so, and we have been busy. Max took a fall stepping out of the back of our house (which he has done more successfully many times), and landed on our concrete patio somewhere between his upper lip and his nose. I would show you a picture, but we couldn't manage taking a picture of our pitiful little guy for a few days! But never fear, he's all better now! We also introduced him to a combination of two of his favorite things: Bubbles and the bathtub. That, so far, has been a hit! Thanks for stopping by, and I am sorry it has taken me more than two months to get back to blogging. I will be better, I promise! Until next time, much love from the Bolick clan!

Blizzard Videos...

Well, as promised, below are links to the videos that I took during and after the blizzard of 2011, right here at our house in Lawrence, Kansas. I apoligize for having to send you to YouTube, but the size of the videos proved problematic for the blog. Oh well. The first video I took shortly after I arrived home, around 3:00 in the afternoon on February 1st.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8OhLQ3NvcY

Later on, just before the sun went down, I shot this update...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSRoNGvc9uk

And finally, when all the snow had fallen, and the wind had died down, and the cold(er) temperatures had set in, I shot this video, which was taken on the morning of February 2nd...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx1zui7V46c

I hope you enjoyed watching these videos from the comfort of your own warm home. It was quite an experience for all three of us, and no doubt, one that makes us look forward to spring more than ever! Until next time, thanks for tuning in!

Bolick Family's First BLIZZARD!

Well, we have finally done it. That's right, we have survived (so far, at least!) our first blizzard together as a family. The reports for snow began building up last week, and with each and every day, the seriousness began to increase by our local meteorologists (huge shout-out to Brian Busby!). Yesterday, there was a Blizzard Warning issued, which made some of us laugh, and others of us a bit nervous for what was to come. Jo Marie and I slept lightly on the eve of the first day of February, awaiting word from Washburn University as to whether or not she was going to have to teach class first thing in the morning, and hence, have to drive to Topeka. Around 5:20 am, Washburn announced (like everyone else in NE KS, including all state offices) that they would be closed for the pending blizzard. Thus, Max and Jo Marie would have to hold down the fort while I went to work. The snow began around 6:00 I would guess, and snowed all morning with a good amount of wind. I was wondering what it was going to be like heading home after a day of what I was watching outside of my office window! Jo Marie and Max went to a friends house for a play date before things got too bad, and all in all, enjoyed their day together, sans a little cabin fever!

They started with a little post-breakfast, nothing other than Lucky Charms. Funny thing though, Max really only cares for the marshmallows...

Next came helping mom with the dish-washer.

Then on to Legos...

Can you feel the cabin fever beginning to set in?!

Yay! Daddy's home!!! Thankfully, the bank cut us loose at 2:00, so once I got home, Max wanted to go outside (for only about five minutes, that's all we could stand...)

Trying out our new sled, which both daddy, mommy, and Max were all under-whelmed by!


Stay tuned for some videos that I took after I got home from work, just before sun-down, and on the morning of February 2, 2011, after all of the snow had fallen. The temperature for the next couple of days isn't supposed to heat up past 10 degrees, and the wind will continue to howl. I believe the wind chills for Wednesday and Thursday will hang between -20 and -5 or so, based on the last reports that I have heard. For a guy that has lived in KS for about 4 years, but had NC blood in his body for his first 26 years, that is down-right COLD!!!

Video Time!

Well, it has been a long, long time since we posted a video on the blog of little Max. However, we have been shooting a few more videos, since everyday it seems as though he is doing something new. In time, we both promise to add more videos to this blog, because sometimes, a still picture just doesn't cut it! This morning, while sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast, we saw an opportunity to grab the video camera to catch some mad spoon handling skills (insert sarcasm here). What we got, though, is a rare opportunity to catch Max talking with a camera in his face. We hope you enjoy!

In other news, Jo Marie and I are both determined to get in better shape, as she is working out every day and I (officially) begin my P90X training next week. We are both really dedicated to this, and hope that the distraction of working out will get us through yet another cold Kansas winter (we are anticipating 5" of snow tomorrow through Tuesday). We took the month of December off from working on the house, but now that it is a new year, I have once again picked up a paint brush and the work continues. Maybe sooner than later, we'll post some pictures of the house, since the ones that have been posted are few and far between! Well, it looks like it is time to hit the antique mall and thrift store with Max and Jo Marie, so until next time...

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Max's new lawn mower, or carpet mower, compliments of Todd, Carren, & Travis!

Zak and I at the DCB Christmas party!

My favorite tradition at Christmas time! (as you can see, it's Max's too ;) Crown Center at Christmas is such a wonderful place to visit!

Jo Marie think he looks just like she did as a baby in this one! The sweet radio flyer bumper car came from Nana & Papa Bolick.

Can you tell his personality by this one??

Um, Max, the bone is actually for Abby!

What are Zak and I doing, you ask? Well, looks like we are trying to look as silly as possible in front of the mixer.

LOOK! Another present!

We've wrapped up (no pun intended!) another holiday with Max and it's been such a blast. We celebrated our first Christmas in our new home and started some new traditions. All of the presents pictured are from overly generous family! Max received some of the neatest presents this Christmas from all of his grandparents (When you have 6 grandparents you can really LOAD UP!), great-grandparents, and great aunt and uncle. He is one lucky boy to have so many loving family members! Zak, Max and I hope you've all had a fantastic holiday with your family and friends.

In other Max related news, we are constantly amazed by his growing vocabulary. He can say about 45 words and seems to be adding a new ones daily. It is so fun to see him communicate with words. He loves taking baths these days and lives for giving Abby treats. Now that I think about it, I bet Abby likes this new trait of his as well, perhaps better than he does!

We are settling into our new home and continue to slowly make changes to it to make it our own. Zak just celebrated his fourth year at Douglas County Bank and I'm still working at Washburn University, Kansas University, and Insight Schools of Kansas. It's a busy time in our lives, but we wouldn't change a thing. Until next time, thanks for visiting our blog!

Happenings since Halloween...

Well, we have certainly been busy since our last post! We have moved into our new home, and although it took a little while to get settled, each and every day feels more and more like home and not just another house! We have met most all of our neighbors, and we couldn't be more thrilled to give Max such a neat house, neighborhood, and school to grow up with.

We spent Thanksgiving at home in Kansas, but after lunch, we had to head out to Bass Pro Shop in Olathe to see the fishies, beep beeps, and of course Santa Claus. Above, you can see Jo Marie, Max, and I warming up by the fire at the entrance of Bass Pro Shop. Max is so much fun in that store, as he mocks the fishies, points to the different animals, and rides the beep beeps. Thanks to Grandpa Jon for getting him out of the city, and into nature, I guess...

You can see that the table is set for Thanksgiving lunch, and we were lucky enough to have Santa there with us. Grandma Kay has been working with Max to get him as comfortable as possible with Santa Claus. So, she picked up a 'slightly smaller than life size' Santa for us to all talk to, hug, dance with, and even eat dinner with, so that Max could see we were comfortable around him too. And it worked! He didn't even cry when he visited the Santa at Bass Pro Shop!

Here we are at the Old Fashion Christmas Parade in downtown Lawrence. Boy was it cold!

And finally, Max posing with his Ho-Ho-Ho hat, which he really does not mind, believe it or not! Thank you so much for visiting our blog, and be sure to follow us if you are not already doing so. We'll be sure to update you all on the rest of the holiday season at the Bolick house in cold, wintry Kansas!

Halloween 2010

We're walking! That's right! Max took his first steps about 2 weeks ago. He is running all over the place, and I love it! He is just so fun to watch.

Zak's parents and brother made it into town for a concert and we had a great time carving pumpkins and spending time together.

And, have you ever seen a cuter rodant??? Max is at a really fun stage. I most amazed by his vocabulary. I long ago stopped reading parenting books because I would get paranoid that he was behind, but he seems to be doing quite well with talking - wonder where he got that from?

Pumpkin Patch and Visit to SC

Oh, how our little Max has changed in a year. This is a picture of Max last year at the pumpkin patch, where it may have been a bit of a stretch to get his to stay put during the picture...

And here is a picture, ironically enough, of us trying to get Max to stay put while taking his picture!

And another...Max had a really good time at the pumpkin patch helping mommy and daddy pick out the perfect carving pumpkin. He's such a good little guy!

Here is Jo Marie and Max in front of the winning pumpkin, picked right off of the vine! Don't worry, the blemish on the front of the pumpkin is just a little dirt!

And here, you will find Daddy and Max, enjoying the thrill of the hunt!

Besides visiting the pumpkin patch, we were also lucky enough to head out to South Carolina to visit with Grandpa Frank and Grandma Kathy. Our trip was amazing, as the weather and food were good, the company was fun, and Max wasn't the loudest screamer on the plane. In fact, prior to getting on on our flight out of Kansas City, we met an adorable little girl who is just a month older than Max. She and her family ended up sitting on the same side of the plane as us, about 8-10 rows back, if I had to guess. Not long after take off, she screamed her little head off, for much of the duration of the flight. At several points, Max would hear her, and fake scream, as if to mock her. He certainly had the couple of rows behind us cracking up at him! Here is Frank & Kathy with Max at the Mellow Mushroom in downtown Greenville, which is one b-e-a-utiful place to visit in the fall!

Here, Grandpa Frank is giving Max his first taste of a southern staple, Shrimp & Grits. We spent Saturday morning at the Fall for Greenville Festival, which was awesome. Max LOVED Frank's Shrimp & Grits, and nearly ate the whole bowl!

We also got to take a ride in Frank & Kathy's new home on wheels, which is really, really nice! It'll be fun to see them when they roll through Kansas on their trek across the US next year!

All in all, we have been really busy, as you can probably tell. We are getting really excited for Papa Tim, Nana Renay and Muncle Josh to visit next weekend. They will get to see Max over Halloween, which should be quite the hoot! The little booger is beginning to walk, so be sure to stay tuned for a great video of him doing what he does best, which is showing off.

A profitable Halloween...

I found this picture and grateful to see Poppy so happy holding baby Max. I miss taking Max to see his poppy!

Flashback to last halloween!!

I wanted to hop on my soapbox for just a minute and tell you to find things to sell around your house if you want/need extra money - Zak's Waldo sold for $15, my TMNT sold for $59 and Max's lobster sold for $12. Not bad for stuff we had stored in a garbage bag. If you have questions about selling on ebay, I'd be glad to help out.

Zak and I aren't dressing up this year, but watch out for Max, we have two really good options (now, if I could just decide, I'd sell the other ;)

Some of Momma's favorites!

The window at the front door is a new favorite toy!

Max's sitter-in-training - he loves spending time with Paige!

What a cheeseball!

Yep, that's right, my shirt says Math Team :)

Chilling with mommy!

Update: Looks like if the sellers agree to the inspection requests, we'll have a house! :)


Hope you enjoy the pictures! We sure are enjoying Max!

Our new (potential!) house!

Well, we are still working out the details, but we are officially under contract on a new house. We were fortunate enough to have flexibility and time on our sides, so that we could be a bit picky in finding a new house for our family. We were able to find this house in a fantastic neighborhood on the west side of Lawrence, in an awesome school district, with a little room to grow. It is on a corner lot, and Jo Marie and I could not be more excited! The inspection is this afternoon, and closing is scheduled for November 1st! So, wish us luck with all of the details, and we'll be sure to post pictures once we have them, and when we know it is ours! Stay tuned...

Video of Max walking, talking, and playing outside!

Well, it has been a very, very long time since we uploaded a video onto Max's blog. We found the appropriate cord following Move #1, so here is a recent video I took with Max playing out in front of the house with his Radio Flyer.

Now that we have the video camera dug out, and the cord has been located, be sure to check up on us from time to time to see Max exploring his new digs, along with other accomplishments that he seems to conquer each and every day! Hope you enjoyed, see you all soon, but not soon enough!

We've moved!

First of all, let me apologize for not updating the blog to update the status of our house and family before now. On August 20, we moved from our first little home on Rhode Island Street in downtown Lawrence. We sold the house in a short 6 days, and thankfully, the nice folks that bought our home also own a townhouse on the west side of town that they agreed to lease to us until we can find our next home. So, we closed on the house, and moved. Although the house hunt continues, we are so very grateful to have a comfortable place to settle in the meantime. Other than that, Jo Marie has gone back to her respective jobs. She is:

1) Teaching two math classes online,
2) Observing student teachers in the math department for KU,
3) Teaching two courses at her Alma Mater, Washburn University, and
4) Selling items on eBay, when time permits!

I am very proud of her, and her ability to manage her time so effectively, doing the things she really enjoys!

Max is still growing like a weed. He is crawling faster and faster, and this past weekend he managed to stay standing up while moving from the ottoman to the coffee table, albeit the trip is only an arms length away! He is talking his own language non-stop, and at the pool, he even sits on the edge and jumps in over and over again, laughing the whole time. Jo Marie and I often talk about how blessed we are to have such a happy little guy to call our own son.

Here he is laughing about wearing his 'Max' hat that Grandma Rozzelle made for him, although now it is a bit too small!

And here he is being the happy little fellow he is (most of the time!).

Thanks for checking us out, and I'll post some more pictures when I can of the comings and goings of the Bolick clan!